An Arab is a person who identifies as
such on genealogical,
linguistic, or cultural
grounds. The plural
form, Arabs, refers
to the ethnic group
at large.

Though the Arabic language pre-dates
the Common Era, Arabic
culture was first
spread in the Middle
East beginning in
the 2nd century as
ethnically Arab Christians
such as the Ghassanids,
Lakhmids and Banu
Judham began migrating
into the Northern
Arabian desert and
the Levant.The Arabic
language gained greater
prominence with the
rise of Islam
in the 7th century
AD as the language
of the Qur'an, and
Arabic language and
culture were more
widely disseminated
as a result of early
Islamic expansion.

Early Semites, such as the Arameans,
Akkadians and Canaanites,
built civilizations
in Mesopotamia and
the Levant; genetically,
they often interlapped
and mixed. Slowly,
however, they lost
their political domination
of the Near East due
to internal turmoil
and attacks by non-Semitic
peoples. Although
the Semites eventually
lost political control
of the Middle East
to the Persian Empire,
the Aramaic language
remained the lingua
Franca of Mesopotamia
and the Levant. Aramaic
itself was replaced
by Greek as the Middle
East's prestige language
following the conquest
of Alexander the Great.

The Torah occasionally refers to `Arvi
peoples (or variants
thereof), translated
as "Arab"
or "Arabian".
The scope of the term
at that early stage
is unclear, but it
seems to have referred
to various desert-dwelling
Semitic tribes in
the Syrian Desert
and Arabia. Its earliest
attested use refers
to the neighboring
nomadic groups such
as those of Gindibu
the Arab. Proto-Arabic,
or ancient north Arabian,
texts give a clearer
picture of the Arabs'
emergence. The earliest
are written in variants
of epigraphic south
Arabian musnad script,
including the 8th
century BC Hasaean
inscriptions of eastern
Saudi Arabia, the
6th century BC Lihyanite
texts of southeastern
Saudi Arabia and the
Thamudic texts found
throughout Arabia
and the Sinai (not
in reality connected
with Thamud).

The Nabateans were nomadic newcomers
who moved into territory
vacated by the Edomites
-- Semites who settled
the region centuries
before them. Their
early inscriptions
were in Aramaic, but
gradually switched
to Arabic, and since
they had writing,
it was they who made
the first inscriptions
in Arabic. The Nabatean
Alphabet was adopted
by Arabs to the south,
and evolved into modern
Arabic script around
the 4th century. This
is attested by Safaitic
inscriptions (beginning
in the 1st century
BC) and the many Arabic
personal names in
Nabataean inscriptions.
From about the 2nd
century BC, a few
inscriptions from
Qaryat al-Faw (near
Sulayyil) reveal a
dialect which is no
longer considered
"proto-Arabic",
but pre-classical
Arabic.

In Sassanid times, Arabia Petraea was
a border province
between the Roman
and Persian empires[citation
needed], and from
the early centuries
AD was increasingly
affected by Arab influence,
notably with the Ghassanids
migrating north from
the 3rd century.

The Ghassanids,Lakhmids and Kindites
were the last major
migration of non-Muslims
out of Yemen to the
north.

The Ghassanids revived the Semitic presence
in the then Hellenized
Syria. They mainly
settled the Hauran
region and spread
to modern Lebanon,
Palestine and Jordan.
The Ghassanids held
Syria until engulfed
by the expansion of
Islam.

Greeks and Romans referred to all the
nomadic population
of the desert in the
Near East as Arabi.
The Greeks called
Yemen "Arabia
Felix"[19]. The
Romans called the
vassal nomadic states
within the Roman Empire
"Arabia Petraea"
after the city of
Petra, and called
unconquered deserts
bordering the empire
to the south and east
Arabia Magna.

The Lakhmids settled the mid Tigris region
around their capital
Al-hira they ended
up allying with the
Sassanid against the
Ghassanids and the
Byzantine Empire.
The Lakhmids contested
control of the Central
Arabian tribes with
the Kindites with
the Lakhmids eventually
destroying Kinda in
540 after the fall
of their main ally
Himyar. The Sassanids
dissolved the Lakhmid
kingdom in 602.

The Kindites migrated from Yemen along
with the Ghassanids
and Lakhmids, but
were turned back in
Bahrain by the Abdul
Qais Rabi'a tribe.
They returned to Yemen
and allied themselves
with the Himyarites
who installed them
as a vassal kingdom
that ruled Central
Arbia from Qaryah
dhat Kahl (the present-day
Qaryat al-Faw) in
Central Arabia. They
ruled much of the
Northern/Central Arabian
peninsula until the
fall of the Himyarites
in 525AD.

Early Islamic period

Muslims of Medina referred to the nomadic
tribes of the deserts
as the A'raab, and
considered themselves
sedentary, but were
aware of their close
racial bonds. The
term "A'raab'
mirrors the term Assyrians
used to describe the
closely related nomads
they defeated in Syria.

The Qur'an does not use the word ?arab,
only the nisba adjective
?arabiy. The Qur'an
calls itself ?arabiy,
"Arabic",
and Mubin, "clear".
The two qualities
are connected for
example in ayat 43.2-3,
"By the clear
Book: We have made
it an Arabic recitation
in order that you
may understand".
The Qur'an became
regarded as the prime
example of the al-?arabiyya,
the language of the
Arabs. The term ?i?rab
has the same root
and refers to a particularly
clear and correct
mode of speech. The
plural noun ?a?rab
refers to the Bedouin
tribes of the desert
who resisted Muhammad,
for example in ayat
9.97, al'a'rabu ?aaddu
kufran wa nifaqan
"the Bedouin
are the worst in disbelief
and hypocrisy".

Based on this, in early Islamic terminology,
?arabiy referred to
the language, and
?a?rab to the Arab
Bedouins, carrying
a negative connotation
due to the Qur'anic
verdict just cited.
But after the Islamic
conquest of the 8th
century, the language
of the nomadic Arabs
became regarded as
the most pure by the
grammarians following
Abi Ishaq, and the
term kalam al-?Arab,
"language of
the Arabs", denoted
the uncontaminated
language of the Bedouins.

Levant and Iraq

The arrival of Islam
united the Arab tribes,
who flooded into the
Semitic Levant and
Iraq. In 661, and
throughout the Caliphate's
rule by the Ummayad
dynasty, Damascus
was established as
the Muslim capital.
In these newly acquired
territories, Arabs
comprised the ruling
military elite and
as such, enjoyed special
privileges. They were
proud of their Arab
ancestry and sponsored
the poetry and culture
of pre-Islamic Arabia
whilst diffusing with
Levantine and Iraqi
culture. They established
garrison towns, including
Ramla, ar-Raqqah,
Basra, Kufa, Mosul
and Samarra  all
of which developed
into major cities.

Caliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic
as the Caliphate's
official language
in 686. This reform
greatly influenced
the conquered non-Arab
peoples and fueled
the Arabization of
the region. However,
the Arabs' higher
status among non-Arab
Muslim converts and
the latter's obligation
to pay heavy taxes
caused resentment.
Caliph Umar II strove
to resolve the conflict
when he came to power
in 717. He rectified
the situation, demanding
that all Muslims be
treated as equals
but, his intended
reforms did not take
effect as he died
after only three years
of rule. By now, discontent
swept the region and
a bloody uprising
occurred in which
the Abbasids came
to power and moved
the capital to Baghdad.
The Abbasids were
also Arabs (descendants
of Muhammad's uncle
Abbas) and unlike
the Ummayads, they
had the support of
non-Arab Islamic groups.[20]
Through Islam and
Arabic as the language
of administration
the Levantine and
Iraqi populations
were eventually Arabized.

North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

The Phoenicians and later the Carthaginians
dominated North African
and Iberian shores
for more than 8 centuries
until they were suppressed
by the Romans and
the later Vandal invasion.
Inland, the nomadic
Berbers allied with
Arab Muslims in invading
Spain. The Arabs mainly
settled the old Phoenician
and Carthagenian towns,
while the Berbers
remained dominant
inland. Inland north
Africa remained partly
Arabized until the
11th century, whereas
the Iberian Peninsula,
particularly its southern
part, remained heavily
Arabized, until the
expulsion of the Moriscos
in the 17th century.

Medieval times

Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima
distinguishes between
sedentary Muslims
who used to be nomadic
Arabs and the Bedouin
nomadic Arabs of the
desert. He used the
term "formerly-nomadic"
Arabs and refers to
sedentary Muslims
by the region or city
they lived in, as
in Egyptians, Spaniards
and Yemenis.The Christians
of Italy and the Crusaders
preferred the term
Saracens for all the
Arabs and Muslims
of that time. The
Christians of Iberia
used the term Moor
to describe all the
Arabs and Muslims
of that time.

Arabs of Central Asia
Further information:
History of Arabs in
Afghanistan
Most Arabs of Central
Asia are fully assimilated
with local populations,
and call themselves
the same as locals
(e.g. Kazakhs, Tajiks,
Uzbeks). In order
to notice their Arab
origin they have a
special term: Sayyid,
Khoja or Siddiqui.

Banu Hilal in North Africa, 1046AD
The Banu Hilal was
an Arabian tribal
confederation, organized
by the Fatimids. They
struck in Libya, reducing
the Zenata Berbers
(a clan that claimed
Yemeni ancestry from
pre-Islamic periods)
and small coastal
towns, and Arabizing
the Sanhaja berber
confederation. The
Banu Hilal eventually
Settled modern (Morocco
and Algeria) and subdued
Arabized the Sanhaja
by the time of Ibn
Khaldun.

Banu Sulaym in North Africa, 1049AD
The Banu Sulyam is
another Bedouin tribal
confederation from
Nejd which followed
through the trials
of Banu Hilal and
helped them defeat
the Zirids in the
Battle of Gabis in
1052 AD, and finally
took Kairuan in 1057
Ad. The Banu Sulaym
mainly settled and
completely Arabized
Libya.

Banu Kanz Nubia/Sudan, 11th-14th century
A branch of the Rabi'ah
tribe settled in north
Sudan and slowly Arabized
the Makurian kingdom
in modern Sudan until
1315 AD when the Banu
Kanz inherited the
kingdom of Makuria
and paved the way
for the Arabization
of the Sudan, that
was completed by the
arrival of the Jaalin
and Juhayna Arab tribes.

Banu Hassan Mauritania 1644-1674AD
The Banu Maqil is
a Yemeni nomadic tribe
that settled in Tunisia
in the 13th century.
The Banu Hassan a
Maqil branch moved
into the Sanhaja region
in whats today the
Western Sahara and
Mauritania, they fought
a thirty years war
on the side of the
Lamtuna Arabized Berbers
who claimed Himyarite
ancestry (from the
early Islamic invasions)
defeating the Sanhaja
berbers and Arabizing
Mauritania.

Tribal genealogy

Medieval Arab genealogists
divided Arabs into
three groups:

"Ancient Arabs", tribes that
had vanished or been
destroyed, such as
'Ad and Thamud, often
mentioned in the Qur'an
as examples of God's
power to destroy wicked
peoples.

"Pure Arabs" of South Arabia,
descending from Qahtan.
The Qahtanites (Qahtanis)
are said to have migrated
the land of Yemen
following the destruction
of the Ma'rib Dam
(sadd Ma'rib).

The "Arabized Arabs" (musta`ribah)
of center and North
Arabia, descending
from Ishmael son of
Abraham. The Book
of Jubilees claims
that the The sons
of Ishmael intermingled
with the 6 sons of
Keturah from Abraham
And was called Arabs
and Ishmaelites:

Book of Jubilees 20:13 And Ishmael and
his sons, and the
sons of Keturah and
their sons, went together
and dwelt from Paran
to the entering in
of Babylon in all
the land which is
towards the East facing
the desert. And these
mingled with each
other, and their name
was called Arabs,
and Ishmaelites.

Arab Muslims are Sunni,
Shia
or Ibadhi.
The Druze
faith is generally
considered divergent
enough to constitute
a separate religion.
The self-identified
Arab Christians generally
follow Eastern Churches
such as the Greek
Orthodox and Greek
Catholic churches
and the Maronite church.
It should be noted
that many, if not
most, Coptic Christians
do not identify as
ethnic Arabs (see
Egyptian people for
more information on
this ethnic controversy).[citation
needed]

Before the coming of Islam, most Arabs
followed a religion
with a number of deities,
including Hubal, Wadd,
Allat, Manat, and
Uzza. Some tribes
had converted to Christianity
or Judaism. A few
individuals, the hanifs,
had apparently rejected
polytheism in favor
of monotheism unaffiliated
with any particular
religion. The most
prominent Arab Christian
kingdoms were the
Ghassanid and Lakhmid
kingdoms. When Himyarite
kings converted to
Judaism in the late
4th century, the elites
of the other prominent
Arab kingdom, the
Kindites, being Himyirite
vassals, apparently
also converted (at
least partly). With
the expansion of Islam,
polytheistic Arabs
were rapidly Islamized,
and polytheistic traditions
disappeared.

Today, Sunni
Islam dominates in
most areas, overwhelmingly
so in North Africa.
Shia
Islam is dominant
in southern Iraq and
southern Lebanon.
Shia Muslims are also
believed to be in
the majority in Bahrain,
and substantial Shi'a
populations exist
in Kuwait, eastern
Saudi Arabia, northern
Syria, the al-Batinah
region in Oman, and
in northern Yemen.
The Druze community,
concentrated in the
Levant, follow a faith
that was originally
an offshoot of Ismaili
Shia Islam, and are
also Arab.